


adult world

by nezumiprefersdanielleovershakespeare



Category: No. 6 (Anime & Manga), No. 6 - All Media Types, No. 6 - Asano Atsuko
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-11-10 07:51:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11122941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nezumiprefersdanielleovershakespeare/pseuds/nezumiprefersdanielleovershakespeare
Summary: Nezumi works at an adult store, and Shion finds himself repeatedly among its shelves.





	adult world

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote and posted this fic in August, 2013.
> 
> I'm reposting some of my old fics from the many accounts I previously deleted over the past few years, so if you're familiar with my fics and want to request that I repost a certain old fave, feel free to message me at my tumblr: http://coolasamackerel.tumblr.com or comment on this post: http://coolasamackerel.tumblr.com/post/160488980276/danielles-nezushifree-fics and I'll be happy to consider reposting it! For both my new readers and my old guys, hope you enjoy the fic!! :D

He went to Adult World as a dare when he was twelve.

            There were many things Shion had never seen – and never known existed – before setting foot into the dingy shop with lights that only came in neon and windows always covered in blinds. He had been sure several images would be permanently burnt in his mind, but there was one thing Shion knew he’d cherish keeping in his memory.

            He remembered wondering why a little girl was working at the register of a sex shop, until on closer inspection under the guise of examining fluorescent condoms in a box on the counter, he saw that the little girl was actually a boy.

            Shion might have been content to stare at the boy for a while longer, even with a large nude man staring at him from the cover a magazine two inches from his face, until the boy turned to look at him. One glare from those quiet grey eyes – they really were grey, weren’t they? – and Shion bolted from the shop.

            It was many years later, when Shion actually _was_ an adult, that he allowed himself to set foot in Adult World again.

            It was just as dingy and spotted with neon and foreboding as Shion remembered, and he felt just as out of place as he had when he was twelve. He averted his eyes upon entering from the counter, though he was sure – one hundred percent certain – that the boy couldn’t still be there.

            There were two other people in the store, a couple, and Shion distracted himself from his racing heartbeat by focusing on their conversation an aisle over.

            “No, no, this one is too big, I told you the last size we got was the limit.”

            “Hon, let’s just try it, we can always return – ”

            “No returns!”

            Shion jumped at the shout from the clerk. The voice was low, and Shion felt a rush of relief. There was no way that voice could come from a boy who’d looked like a girl, even after he’d hit puberty.

            “Still,” the man from the couple continued, in a voice somewhat lower than before, “I’m sure you can handle it.”

            “When you stick one of these up your ass, then you can give me advice on what I can handle,” the woman snapped, and Shion accidentally knocked over a stack of carrot-shaped vibrators.

            “Don’t knock over my shit.” The low voice came lazily from the clerk, and Shion stooped down quickly.

            “Sorry!” he called back.

            “What about this one – ”

            _“No.”_

            “But – ”

            “I told you, we’re never doing that again. I couldn’t walk for weeks.”

            Shion knocked over a pile of handcuffs, and they skittered loudly across the floor.

            “What did I say about my shit?”

            “Sorry!” Shion apologized again to the voice he couldn’t help but notice sounded a bit amused.

            Shion stayed crouched on the floor, out of the way of anything else he could shove over, until the couple paid for the two videos they’d finally picked out and left the shop. He got up then, figuring it was about time he left, and walked down the aisle to pass the counter on the way to the door.

            “I hope you cleaned up.”

            Shion looked over at the clerk to apologize again, but forgot his words at the edge of his tongue at one look at him.

            “You!”

            The clerk looked up from the paperback he’d been reading.

            “Do I know you?” he asked, his grey eyes just like Shion had remembered, just as he’d dreamt of for years.

            Though his eyes stayed the same, everything else about him seemed to have changed. He definitely didn’t look like a little girl anymore – he was a full-grown man, and even sitting down Shion could tell he was now taller than him, with long limbs that folded at sharp angles under snow-white skin.

            His dark hair was longer, tied up in a low ponytail that left out his overgrown bangs and longer strands that framed his pale face, a face currently configured in a quite irritating smirk.

            “Oh, um, no, I don’t think – I mean, years ago – no, never mind, just forget it,” Shion stammered.

            “Need help with something?”

            “No, I’m just…looking,” Shion said, tearing his eyes from the grey scrutiny that made him feel somewhat antsy.

            “You sure? Nothing to make the girlfriend happy?”

            “No! I don’t have – That’s not what I…”

            “Oh, boyfriend then?” the clerk asked, his smirk widening, his eyes crinkling at the edges.

            Shion opened and closed his mouth and stared at the book the clerk was reading instead. From upside down, he recognized it easily as _King Lear_. The clerk of Adult World read Shakespeare?

            “All right, if you just want to keep, ah, _looking_ , go ahead.”

            Shion nodded, glanced at the basket of fluorescent condoms that seemed untouched since the first time Shion had been there, then made his second escape.

*         

The third time he entered Adult World, Shion was a bit more prepared. There was a line at the counter, but the moment he walked in, the grey eyes seemed to sense him, darting up to lock on his for a second before drifting back to his customer, a woman who looked older than Shion’s grandmother.

            To Shion, those eyes seemed brighter than any of the neon lights that blinked lethargically at him.

            “No returns, I’ve told you this, Mrs. Amari.”

            “But me and you both know rules can be broken, right, sweetcheeks?”

            Shion, who’d been pretending to browse magazines, looked up at the clerk, thinking he was the last person Shion would ever dare to call _sweetcheeks_.

            But the clerk only smiled and shook his head. “Rules can be broken, but the Indestructible Python 5000 cannot, yet somehow you’re holding one that has been bent in half and trying to return it. How can I put that back on the shelves?”

            “Oh, people will still by it. It can hit some nice angles now.”

            The clerk laughed, the full sound out of place in the dingy shop.

            “I’ve got a line, Mrs. Amari. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

            “No, no, you just stay pretty, sweetcheeks. And cut those bangs, you know the only reason I come here is for those eyes of yours. _That’s_ what you should be selling on those shelves, a look from those makes my tutu tingle every time.”

            Shion stared unabashedly as the old lady – who couldn’t be less than seventy years old – cackled and left the shop with her broken Indestructible Python 500, leaving the clerk shaking his head after her before addressing his next customer.

            Shion had made his way through the whole shop by the time the clerk’s line was gone, but even then, he couldn’t muster the courage to make conversation himself, and lingered by an assortment of rubber balls with spikes that he wasn’t quite sure the purpose of, though he couldn’t deny his curiosity.

            “Back for another look?”

            Shion wheeled around, knocking the spikey rubber things to the floor. “Oh, um, well – ”

            “Oh, I see, you’re just here to continue slowly demolishing the shop. Keep this in mind – You break it you take it. Can’t say I admire your taste, though,” the clerk said, looking pointedly at the spikey toys bouncing by Shion’s feet.

            “No, I don’t want – I don’t even know what these are for – ”

            “I can show you, if you’d like,” the clerk said, and Shion looked up, red-faced, to see that smirk again.

            “No, thanks,” Shion breathed, stooping down to clean his mess.

            The clerk laughed again, and Shion couldn’t help smiling at the floor.

            When he was done cleaning, he steeled himself to go back to the counter, where the clerk was reading again.

            “How’s _King Lear_?” Shion asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets to deny that they were sweating.

            The clerk looked up slowly. “ _The Tempest_ is fine, actually.”

            “Oh, sorry, it’s just, last time you were – ”

            “You’re keeping track, huh?” The smirk was back, and Shion felt somewhat dizzy. “Besides, it’s been ten days since you were here, I’m not that slow, you know.”

            Shion couldn’t stop his smile. “Who’s keeping track now?”

            “I guess both of us are. What do you make of that?”

            Shion couldn’t have replied even if he could think of what to say, as his voice seemed to be lost somewhere along with his stomach on the floor.

            “You want to buy something, or are you still just _looking_?”

            “Just – Just looking,” Shion confirmed, then tripped over his feet as he turned around and made to leave.

            “Sale on all things rubber next week. Get those spikey balls of yours half off!” the clerk called as Shion practically ran out of the door.

*

The fourth time, the clerk offered Shion his name.

            “Nezumi.”

            “What?” Shion asked, staring at the clerk, who hadn’t looked up from his book when he’d walked in.

            “My name. When I don’t go by sweetcheeks, of course.”

            “Which do you prefer?” Shion asked, wondering if this was what flirting was, and if he was doing it right. He’d never been interested in the romance field, but figured it was time to learn. If anything, Shion was curious, always open for a new learning experience.

            “Depends on who I’m talking to.”

            Shion walked up to the counter. “What are you reading now, Nezumi?” Shion asked, deciding he’d leave _sweetcheeks_ for another day.

            “ _Hamlet._ ”

            “It’s your favorite, isn’t it?”

            Nezumi’s eyes narrowed. “Why would you say that?”

            “You’re caressing the spine, for one thing. Also, you’ve been reading that for years.”

            “Excuse you?”

            Shion smashed his lips together, then shrugged. “I guess you don’t remember, but years ago, I came in here on a dare, and you were reading _Hamlet._ ”

            “I’m surprised you remember that. I thought you were too engrossed in those condoms.”

            Shion stared. “You remember?”

            “Sure. Hard to forget those red eyes, especially when they’re staring at you so widely.”

            “But – But when I came again, you asked if you knew me, you acted like you didn’t remember – ”

            “Acting is a hobby of mine. Don’t take it personally.”

            “Oh,” Shion said, feeling somewhat relieved.

            “So you want to buy something? You’re making me think you only come here for the company. Don’t let it get to my head.”

            Shion wondered if it was natural, the things Nezumi’s grin was doing to him.

            “Er, I’ll take a condom then.”

            “That’s it? No magazines, videos, the Indestructible Python 5001, perhaps? It’s a new item, I heard it’s actually indestructible this time, but then, you’d expect them to finally get it right after 5001 tries, wouldn’t you?”

            Shion felt his face burning and wished he had something to hide behind. “No, that’s okay. Just one condom.”

            “Only one? You know they’re not reusable.”

            Shion wanted to make that smirk disappear, and blushed deeper. “Yes, I know that.”

            “Well then, I’m sorry to hear you only need one,” Nezumi said, handing Shion a red one. “This one’s on me, take it, it’ll bring out your eyes.”

            Shion took it, nearly jumping when his fingers touched Nezumi’s. “Thanks,” he said weakly.

            “Use it well,” Nezumi replied, giving Shion a wink before he hurried out to hide his own smile from the clerk.

*

Visit five was Shion’s turn to share his name.

            “How was the rubber? I gave you the one that boasts cherry scent. I’ve always wanted to ask if they really smelled the way the packet claims.”

            Shion bit his lip and walked straight to the counter as he entered, not bothering to pretend to peruse the aisles he knew rather well by then.

            “I don’t know, I didn’t use it yet.”

            “What are you saving it for, New Years?”

            Shion watched Nezumi’s face, not bothering to think of a reply. He was more content to observe, to memorize the lips and the eyelashes and the way his hair curled gently around his ears.

            “What? Just looking again, huh?”

            “I bought something last time, didn’t I?” Shion retorted, leaning against the counter.

            “Doesn’t count if you don’t use it. You do know how to use it, right?”

            Shion scowled. “Yes.”

            “’Cause I could give you some tips, if you want. That’s my job, you know.”

            “Tips on how to use a condom?” Shion asked, breathless.

            “Tips, tutorials, hands-on lessons, anything you need. You paid for it all, you might as well get your money’s worth.”

            “You gave it to me for free,” Shion countered, but his voice was weak, and he hadn’t noticed Nezumi leaning closer until his face was inches from Shion’s.

            Nezumi was so close Shion could feel his breath. He opened his lips and leaned closer, the edge of the counter digging into his stomach –

            “Hey, are these videos legitimate or pirated?”

            Nezumi leaned back, and Shion closed his eyes, breathing deeply and wondering at his disappointment.

            “Don’t know, don’t care. Does it make a difference?”

            “I don’t want to buy illegal videos,” the customer said. Shion leaned back to look at him, a middle-aged guy who Shion was pretty sure he recognized as a steady customer at his mother’s bakery.

            Nezumi sighed, pushing his bangs up from his forehead and rolling his eyes at Shion. “It’s all legal porn here, don’t worry yourself.”

            Shion smiled, feeling warm from Nezumi’s eye roll, as if they shared an inside joke.

            “It’s not all filmed by you and your boyfriend there, is it? I want good quality.”

            Shion stared from the customer to Nezumi, his face burning.

            “Does that woman on the cover look like either me or my boyfriend? Are you going to keep asking bullshit questions or buy the damn thing?” Nezumi asked, sounding bored and completely at ease in calling Shion _his boyfriend._

            “Fine, I’ll buy it. And you, young man, should learn people skills,” the man said, slapping the video on the counter as Shion stepped aside.

            “So I can get along with lovely people like you? I’d rather be an asshole, thanks.”

            The customer left in a huff, and Shion returned to his perch by the counter.

            “I don’t think you’re an asshole,” Shion offered.

            Nezumi looked at Shion, his expression serious, but his eyes shining in a way that reminded Shion too much of his for once absent smirk. “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

            Shion laughed.

            “Are you ever going to tell me your name, or do I have to wait until visit six?”

            Shion liked that he’d been counting. “It’s Shion.”

            “I think I’ve got a video with a Shion. You sure you’re not a secret porn star?”

            “Pretty sure,” Shion replied, his eyes grazing the clock on the wall. “I have to go.”

            “Another day of just looking. When are you going to, say, _touch_?” Nezumi asked, leaning over again and stretching a hand out. Shion shuddered when his pale finger touched his cheek.

            “For _that,_ you have to wait for visit six,” he replied, forcing himself to back away from Nezumi’s hand. This time, he was the one to wink – albeit clumsily – at Nezumi before he left Adult World, already thinking about the next time he’d return to the dingy shop.

 

THE END


End file.
